Anchor texts
Not sure how to write your anchor texts? Even though anchor texts don't contain many words, they still have a big impact on your SEO.
Learn more about anchor texts in this guide and contact Webamp if you want help with anchor texts from a professional SEO agency.
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The importance of anchor texts for SEO
Anchor texts have an impact on how Google understands your site's content. That's why it's important to consider which anchor texts are used in your internal and external link building. Make sure your anchor texts are as natural and organic as possible, as Google may penalize the page if it is too over-optimized and mechanical.
As always when working with search engine optimization, you need to write for humans rather than machines. Your anchor texts should be descriptive and make it easy for the user to understand what they get out of the page.
The different types of anchor texts
When working with link building, variety is key. A deliberate and mechanical use of keywords in anchor texts goes against Google's guidelines and can be penalized. There are typically 6 different types of anchor texts.
- Brand name: Your company name
- Web address: Your domain name
- Search phrase: Search term in combination with another text consisting of at least two words
- Generic: A generic text like "click here"
- Image: Image link without text e.g. a logo
- Spam: Meaningless text and text of a sexual nature.
Internal and external anchor texts
There are both external links (backlinks) and internal links. External links come from one domain that links to another domain. Internal links are when you link from your own domain to other content on the same domain.
In external anchor texts, there has been a tendency in the past that too hard optimization of the anchor text itself will be penalized by Google. In internal anchor texts, you can usually be a bit more aggressive with keywords.
Frequently asked questions
What is an anchor text?
An anchor text is the clickable part of a hyperlink. It can be a word or phrase that links you to a new page.
Why create an anchor text?
Google uses the words in the anchor text to understand what the page is about. This is why anchor texts are important for your SEO and therefore your website's ranking on Google.
Why should you vary your anchor texts?
Google penalizes pages that have a mechanical and unnatural use of keywords. Therefore, your anchor texts should be varied and create context within themselves.
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